Christine and Keith's Travels: Grand Tour of Egypt: Bahariya Oasis

Baharia Oasis

Bahariya is a district with small towns in it, all provided for by the oasis springs. We stayed at the Cleopatra Hotel and, after a much needed couple of hours sleep and computer catch up, the fourteen members of our tour group all met for tea in the hotel dining room.
The service was slow and and it seemed that the very young staff on duty must all be learning on the job, with no supervision. The food was not to the standard expected for the others, and the vegetarian dish we were presented with consisted of rice and ‘chipsies’ (crisps)!

Mamdoh chastised the hotel staff and said that the service wasn’t good enough. While he was out doing that, several members of our group gave up waiting for dessert (usually a plate of oranges or mandarins) and cups of tea and wandered off. By the time Mamdoh returned there were only six of us left and we couldn’t really leave because the staff had to show that they were pulling up their socks and being 100% professional and considerate. This was quite a challenge since the chef and some other staff were obviously absent, which was why things were not so hot in the first place. Julie asked for serviettes (usually a box of tissues on the table here), and they were so keen to please that two staff rushed out the door and purchased some at a nearby ‘supermarket’ and presented us with four boxes of tissues.

In Egypt the term 'Supermarket' is widely used for even the tiniest shop.

Next they left to buy oranges, which they cut into large, difficult to manage slices, and after we had eaten them, they brought in another two plates, which we felt obliged to eat to show encouragement and appreciation for their improved efforts. The next challenge was making tea and although there was an urn and tea making things at the end of the room, Mamdoh’s request for tea caused some consternation. After much discussion the urn was removed and, after about ten minutes, just four cups of tea were delivered. Ten minutes later the final two cups appeared, but then Mamdoh asked for second cups for those who had finished. It felt as though we were trapped in a Fawlty Towers situation and, unlike the actors in that show, we were unable to keep straight faces and had a great time laughing and trying not to laugh.
While we waited, ate oranges and drank tea, we enjoyed sharing tales of other times when we had absolutely killed ourselves laughing. Moments like this can never be planned for but they really make the trip fun and deepen the friendships we have been forming.
The Cleopatra Hotel (yes, there is at least one in every town) was right in the centre of town, with dusty streets, market stalls with fresh produce, a bakery, hardware shops, restaurants and houses stretching in every direction. We went for a short walk that evening and then spent more time wandering through the markets the next day. There were many men on the streets, greeting each other warmly, selling produce or buying from others or seemingly just hanging around. Fewer women were out and about shopping. Those we saw were mostly well covered except for some in hijabs and girls in hijabs.
In the bus on our way to visit another warm spring, we stopped to share an anniversary cake with Leah and Ken to help them celebrate their 11th wedding anniversary. Once again Mamdoh excelled himself with a heart felt speech and we all sang ‘Happy Anniversary’.
This was a day of touring the sites of Bahariya. We visited a hill where Greek and Roman tombs had been excavated and many others awaited work. Two tombs were open – that of a rich merchant and the even more highly decorated one of his son. This was very interesting because these people were not kings, yet they had spent an enormous amount of their resources preparing their tombs, which led underground and had numerous chambers. The decorations used a different colour palate – more browns, yellows and blacks – and there was a clear Libyan influence in the details of the clothes and people, which was because there was a Libyan pharaoh at that time.
The Mummies Hall contained sample mummies from a mountain where the tombs of ten thousand ordinary people had been found. The linen was intricately wound onto the body so that diamond patterns were created. A stucco mask and chest cover was then created, gilded and painted with a face and jewellery. Women were given stucco breasts, very pointy and high, and were always shown with their heads inclined to whichever side their husband had been, or would be, buried on. The tombs had contained whole family groups. Disappointingly, the temple of Alexander the Great was in great disrepair, with most of the mud brick sections only just above foundation level, and the sandstone inner chamber, although given a wooden roof, continuing to lose its few remaining decorations through erosion. This was the only tomb where a cartouche containing Alexander’s name has been found, but the cartouche is now barely visible and the writing and other designs are rapidly deteriorating. There are caretakers at all these important sites but the need for a great influx of finance is clear. These are treasures for everyone, so I wonder if a treasures tax on everyone in the world earning a certain amount would be a possible option.
We had drivers who appeared to take every opportunity to go off the road and career wildly through the desert on our way to the spring.
The spring was a large concrete pool with a slimy bottom set in a grove of palms. Keith and I had a swim with some others while the drivers cooked the lunch. The water was more than luke warm but not as warm as a bath. It was fun up to the bit when you hop out into the freezing wind and realise that, although the water was warm, it was not what we would call a good swimming day.
Lunch was more flat bread and a delicious filling made of onions, tomatoes and eggs, and the inevitable chipsies (crisps). The carpets and low tables were set out under the palms. After lunch we went for a walk to check out the irrigation system and the plants being grown there. As in many parts of rural Egypt, there are eucalypts everywhere and there were other trees at this oasis resembling she oaks. This moment of calm contrasted with the hoon like-driving through the sand dunes that seemed a speciality of our driver. Of course, driving in sand requires different skills, such as speedy run ups and jiggling of the steering wheel to retain traction but we did feel that our driver loved taking all the hairy options. We were glad of the moments during the afternoon when we stopped to get out and look at, run on and marvel at the rolling hills of sand.
On the second evening in Baharia a group of us went to a restaurant with Mamdoh. Most of the others had purchased alcohol to drink with their meals. The restaurant owner said that he didn’t want to serve us food because some people had brought alcohol, but after a discussion on religion with Mamdoh, he agreed to make an exception just this once. It was an awkward moment and certainly took some of the pleasure out of the evening.
We left early and heard later that the others had kicked on to a more sympathetic and friendly coffee shop, where they had all had chips, beer and a good time.